


flowers

by jewishtk



Category: Chicago Med
Genre: Amnesia, Brain Damage, M/M, Memory Loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-27 20:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20051971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jewishtk/pseuds/jewishtk
Summary: “Are you mad at me?”Connor freezes in the doorway, trying to process what had been said and trying to think of an appropriate response, but as the minutes tick on he can see Will starting to grow agitated so he says the only thing he can think of. “What?”Though this doesn’t seem to ease Will – quite the opposite actually. His hand curls into a fist around the fluffy plaid blanket and his cheeks balloon out, which remind Connor of how a child might act when they’re angry. After a few seconds it subsides, as if nothing had happened. “Yesterday…” Will trails off and a vacant look fills his eyes and he seems to focus on a spot behind Connor.It hurts seeing him like this, unable to string together a coherent thought and whenever he can hold a conversation it never lasts long, but Connor has learned to appreciate whatever time he can get. Other times, like now, he has to be patient and wait for Will to return on his own because pushing him only angers him.





	flowers

**Author's Note:**

> i really am a huge fan of one word fic titles, huh? anyway, enjoy and lmk what you think below :O

“Are you mad at me?”

Connor freezes in the doorway, trying to process what had been said and trying to think of an appropriate response, but as the minutes tick on he can see Will starting to grow agitated so he says the only thing he can think of. “What?”

Though this doesn’t seem to ease Will – quite the opposite actually. His hand curls into a fist around the fluffy plaid blanket and his cheeks balloon out, which remind Connor of how a child might act when they’re angry. After a few seconds it subsides, as if nothing had happened. “Yesterday…” Will trails off and a vacant look fills his eyes and he seems to focus on a spot behind Connor.

It hurts seeing him like this, unable to string together a coherent thought and whenever he can hold a conversation it never lasts long, but Connor has learned to appreciate whatever time he can get. Other times, like now, he has to be patient and wait for Will to return on his own because pushing him only angers him.

It took him two weeks to learn that pushing Will wasn’t a good idea, that he needed to let him sort out his thoughts and fragmented memories on his own; he should have known that from the beginning because he is a doctor, but those first two weeks he was desperate for Will to remember him. He still is desperate, though he has also accepted he might have to rebuild their relationship from scratch and get Will to fall in love with him again, instead of getting him to remember what they had.

“Connor!”

The outburst shocks him back to the present and he refocuses on Will, who is looking at him with a big grin, and he doesn’t hesitate to mirror his expression. For a moment it feels like he has the old Will back but at the same time he knows the old Will isn’t coming back because he can’t. The only thing they can do is move forward.

“Are you mad at me?”

This time when the question is posed he doesn’t hesitate. “Never, Will,” he assures him, fighting back the tears that want to make themselves known as he moves to settle in the plush chair beside the bed. “I could never be mad at you.”

“Then why didn’t you bring me flowers? You always bring flowers,” he whispers, and he doesn’t sound angry or upset – just confused – but the grin has faded, and a frown replaces it.

He doesn’t always bring flowers but he can’t tell Will that because it will make him even more confused then the confusion will turn to anger then he’ll start cursing. Or worse, crying. Connor can’t stand it when he cries, because it reminds him he can’t help Will. Not in the way he wants, or needs. So, instead of arguing he smiles and takes Will’s hand in his.

“The florist didn’t have any.” The ease in which the lie rolls off his tongue fills him with guilt, even more so when the tension fades from Will’s shoulders and he’s smiling again because he has no reason to believe Connor would lie. “Why don’t we grab a wheelchair and go for a walk?”

Will nods slowly as his brain seems to fully digest the idea. “I would like that,” he whispers and begins to wriggle around on the bed for a moment before swinging his legs off the side, fingers digging into the mattress to steady himself.

“I’ll be right back, okay?” The reassurance never seems to actually help because every time he returns, Will always asks him ‘where have you been all day?’ or variations of that. Every time he just smiles and plays along, because what else can he do? The doctors tell him Will just needs time, that it isn’t time to start worrying about his short term memory, and that he is making amazing progress considering.

Still… he can’t stop the way his chest hurts when he brings the wheelchair back in the room and Will is staring at the floor with a frown on his face and tears rolling down his face. He always anticipates the worst when he finds him like this.

“Where have you been? I thought you weren’t coming.”

He swallows the lump already forming in his throat and tries to calm himself. For Will’s sake. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, abandoning the chair by the door in favor of moving to kneel in front of him, cupping Will’s face in his hands. “I got held up at work but it won’t happen again, okay?” He releases his hold on his face and leans up to kiss his forehead, rubbing the kiss in with his thumbs.

“Okay,” he sniffles.

“Do you want to go for a walk?”

“That sounds nice.”

No matter how hard it gets, he knows he’ll be back the very next day with a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates because he loves Will.

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr @transhalstead where i take requests for rhodestead (and a variety of other chicago med/pd ships!)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [flowers (Podfic)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20332978) by [gaychimney](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaychimney/pseuds/gaychimney), [jewishtk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jewishtk/pseuds/jewishtk)


End file.
